1) We have been asked to consider use of a 1920s city hall as a museum
building.  Has anyone had recent experience in adapting a public building
such as a school, courthouse, or city hall for use as a museum?  Was the
experience positive or negative overall?  How much per square foot did the
renovation end up costing?   What are some pitfalls to be aware of?

2) The ceilings in most of the building under consideration are 12 foot.  In
doing an adaptive reuse, has anyone run into obstacles to exhibit design
from ceiling heights being too low?

3) If we do use the building in question we would have to consider other
uses for our current facility, so we are looking for examples of
multi-museum systems.  How are these organized... do the museums share a
board or commission?  Do they have shared or separate friends groups?  How
much are staff, collections, and equipment shared between the museums?  What
are the themes of the museums in the system?  Have the separate museums
ended up complementing or competing  with each other?

Gaye Bland
Director
Rogers Historical Museum
[log in to unmask]
479-621-1154

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).